Computer Repair Jobs - Getting Into IT Repair Work
For anyone looking into computer repair jobs as a career move it can often be a dilemma to work out how to get started.
Should education and certification be pursued first? Or should you gain some work experience as grounding in a broad skill base? In reality, you need to strike a balance in a career in computer repairs as you will always need to mix experience fixing computer issues with some form of training and education.
The following four tips are a guide to getting the balance right.
1: Balance training and work.
If you can take the time out for full-time education then this is a great start, but for many may not be necessary.
If you have gaps in your skills then you can simply self-train at your own pace, attend night courses or go to product seminars/workshops to gain the requisite knowledge, while still gaining real work experience for clients.
2: Research what education/training you need, and where to get it.
All computer repair jobs will necessitate a broad range of skills (i.
e.
different operating systems, software, etc.
) so you should establish which skill gaps you have and seek out suitable training.
You can mix formal training (e.
g.
night courses, diplomas) and informal training (e.
g.
short courses that only take a few days).
Some areas may also be suited to remote training (e.
g.
using data recovery software).
3: Self-train using partner/reseller programs.
Once you sign up to partner or reseller programs you can obtain discounted products to use for training yourself.
This way you can set the pace of your learning in your own time while still gaining work experience.
4: Certifications and diplomas should not be a primary goal Finally, sometimes computer repair jobs are offered to candidates due to the certification/diplomas and other times it is because of their work experience.
Having recent hands-on experience of a technology can often be just as valuable as a cert, especially in cutting edge products where formalized programs won't exist in the early stages.
Should education and certification be pursued first? Or should you gain some work experience as grounding in a broad skill base? In reality, you need to strike a balance in a career in computer repairs as you will always need to mix experience fixing computer issues with some form of training and education.
The following four tips are a guide to getting the balance right.
1: Balance training and work.
If you can take the time out for full-time education then this is a great start, but for many may not be necessary.
If you have gaps in your skills then you can simply self-train at your own pace, attend night courses or go to product seminars/workshops to gain the requisite knowledge, while still gaining real work experience for clients.
2: Research what education/training you need, and where to get it.
All computer repair jobs will necessitate a broad range of skills (i.
e.
different operating systems, software, etc.
) so you should establish which skill gaps you have and seek out suitable training.
You can mix formal training (e.
g.
night courses, diplomas) and informal training (e.
g.
short courses that only take a few days).
Some areas may also be suited to remote training (e.
g.
using data recovery software).
3: Self-train using partner/reseller programs.
Once you sign up to partner or reseller programs you can obtain discounted products to use for training yourself.
This way you can set the pace of your learning in your own time while still gaining work experience.
4: Certifications and diplomas should not be a primary goal Finally, sometimes computer repair jobs are offered to candidates due to the certification/diplomas and other times it is because of their work experience.
Having recent hands-on experience of a technology can often be just as valuable as a cert, especially in cutting edge products where formalized programs won't exist in the early stages.
Source...